It is known that dehydroaromatization of methane (CH4) under non-oxidative conditions is thermodynamically more favorable to aromatics than to olefins, and molybdenum-modified zeolites or aluminosilicates such as Mo/ZSM-5 and Mo/MCM-22 are found to be effective catalysts for such reactions. Extensive research on the performance of such catalysts has been conducted and reported, and it has been found that the production performance depends on the structure and composition of the catalyst tested and how the catalyst is activated. Thus, research reported to date has focused on identifying a catalyst that can be activated to provide improved aromatization performance such as benzene yield from methane aromatization.
Representative publications of such research results include:
Smieskova et al. “Aromatization of methane on Mo modified zeolites: Influence of the surface and structural properties of the carriers,” Applied Catalysis A: General, 2010, vol. 377, pp. 83-91;
Skutil et al., “Some technological aspects of methane aromatization (direct and via oxidative coupling),” Fuel Processing Technology, 2006, vol. 87, pp. 511-51;
Liu et al., “Methane dehydroaromatization under nonoxidative conditions over Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts: Identification and preparation of the Mo active species,” Journal of Catalysis, 2006, vol. 239, pp. 441-450;
Ha et al., “Aromatization of methane over zeolite supported molybdenum: active sites and reaction mechanism,” Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical, 2002, vol. 181, pp. 283-290;
Shu et al., “Methane dehydro-aromatization over Mo/MCM-22 catalysts: highly selective catalyst for the formation of benzene,” Catalysis Letters, 2000, vol. 70, pp. 67-73;
Xu et al., “Recent advances in methane dehydro-aromatization over transition metal ion-modified zeolite catalysts under non-oxidative conditions,” Applied Catalysis A: General, 1999, vol. 188, pp. 53-67;
Huang et al., “Structure and acidity of Mo/H-MCM-22 catalysts studied by NMR spectroscopy,” Catalysis Today, 204, vol. 97, pp. 25-34;
Chu et al., “A feasible way to enhance effectively the catalytic performance of methane dehydroaromatization,” Catalysis Communications, 2010, vol. 11, pp. 513-517; and
Chu et al., “Dehydroaromatization of methane with a small amount of ethane for higher yield of benzene,” Chinese Chemical Letters, 2004, vol. 15, pp. 591-593.